Odds are neither the Buffalo Sabres nor coach Ron Rolston cares a whit that the NHL fined Rolston for his role in Sunday's brawl between the Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.

That's all well and good, but it doesn't mean the fine, for an undisclosed amount of money, makes any sense. Rolston is paying for "player selection and team conduct," presumably as it relates to 6-8, 270-pound puncher John Scott.

The events took place during the face-off after Buffalo forward Corey Tropp fought Toronto forward Jamie Devane. Buffalo forward John Scott initiated an altercation with Toronto forward Phil Kessel, whom he was lined up against on the face-off, resulting in several fights. In total, 211 penalty minutes, including three game misconducts, were assessed due to the various altercations.

This is not about the usefulness, or lack thereof, of John Scott. This is not about the relevance, or lack thereof, of "The Code" that theoretically governs fighting in the NHL. This is about Ron Rolston, who was fined for, uh, playing one of his players—a player who, mind you, was on the ice before Kessel. Scott had also already skated more than eight minutes in the game.

(Also—"player selection." Hoo boy. The league couldn't have just began and ended with team conduct? At least we got a new meme out of it. "Cap circumvention" was getting old.)

This isn't an attempt to justify what Scott or Rolston did, either; one-dimensional enforcers don't serve any real purpose in 2013, and teams would be better off not to have them on their roster. It's just amazing to see the lengths to which the NHL will go to have and eat its cake on this stuff.

Either you sign off on the existence of John Scott, or you don't. Either you acknowledge his purpose, or you don't. You can't fine his coach for the act of putting him on the ice after a fight, and you certainly can't pretend there's a rule against it.